posted 06-23-2014 10:44 PM               

In May of 1969, Apollo 10 lifted off for a rendezvous with the Moon. It was the dress rehearsal mission for the first lunar surface landing mission, and the crew came within 50,000 feet of the Moon’s surface. While the history books name a three man crew of Tom Stafford, John Young and Gene Cernan, the payload that was lifted by a Saturn V rocket on that Sunday afternoon, carried a total of five crewmates...

posted 06-25-2014 09:40 AM               

Wasn't aware of the color test chart angle for the pictures or the notion of the Peanuts 'brand' potentially being tarnished by any failure.

I like the art/engineering duality for your paintings and Schulz's perspective in licensing the characters for use by NASA.

posted 06-25-2014 06:15 PM               

Under a license agreement between Charles Schulz and NASA, a NASA contracted graphic artist by the name of Ernie Reyes painted a caricature of Charlie Brown in a spacesuit on a green background and Snoopy, in his flying gear, on a piece of red poster board.

posted 06-27-2014 07:54 AM               

When the crew of Apollo X decided on the names for the spacecraft, some people were concerned that in the event of failure of the mission and death of the crew, Charlie and Snoopy would be forever linked to the flight. Thus putting a black cloud over Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Schulz was said to have replied that if the crew can risk their lives, then he could risk Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Schulz was such an advocate of the space program.

I have attempted to interview anybody related to the Apollo X and the paintings. They are the first original paintings to fly to the Moon. They were a very visible part of the first color TV inflight shows from a mission to the Moon.

I just keep looking for more answers. I have talked with the crew. I have talked with members of the backup crew and the support crew. I have talked with the Schulz Museum who displayed the Snoopy painting at the museum back a few years ago. If I could find some ground support people, then I would talk to them also. I just keep pecking away looking for more answers.

Two other items of note.

I want to thank all of you for reading and providing the very positive comments on the article.

posted 06-27-2014 06:10 PM               

The agency was granted use of the cartoon character so long as Schulz drew Snoopy on all the NASA-related material and a copyright notice accompanied the artwork.

But assuming for the moment it is accurate (and I have no reason to believe it is not), that means that sometime between the initial agreement in 1967 and when Apollo 10 flew, Schulz either granted permission for others (in this case, Ernie Reyes) to draw Snoopy and Charlie Brown, or NASA forgot the terms of its arrangement with the cartoonist (as NASA public affairs officer Al Chop initiated).

posted 06-28-2014 12:28 AM               

NASA's chief of Manned Flight Awareness decided to approach Charles Schulz, the creator of Snoopy, and ask if the astronauts might be permitted to adopt Snoopy as their personal safety symbol. An avid supporter of the U.S. space program, Mr. Schulz enthusiastically welcomed the idea. Both Charles Schulz and United Features agreed to let NASA use "Snoopy the Astronaut" at no cost. However, in the interests of preserving the comic strip character's integrity, certain and very reasonable guidelines were established.

First, because no two artists draw Snoopy alike, and multiple artistic renditions of the floppy-eared celebrity would only compromise Snoopy's identity, Charles Schulz himself would draw the figure of Snoopy on all NASA-related motivational items (decals, bumper stickers, posters, cards, pins, etc.).

posted 06-28-2014 01:26 AM               

Journal Contributor Ulli Lotzmann had discussions with Ernie Reyes in mid-2000 about Snoopy's association with Apollo. Reyes was Chief of the Pre-Flight Operations Branch at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston during Apollo; and Lotzmann reports that Reyes, Wayne Stallard and others drew little cartoons on the daily schedules to make them more interesting. The Reyes Snoopy, who looks a little bit different to the Schulz-Snoopy as can be seen from examples in the Apollo 12 cuff checklists, became popular with the Astronaut Corps. Because the cartoons were never intended for commercial publication, Reyes never asked Schulz for permission to use the character.

posted 08-12-2014 07:21 PM               

I am contacting you in this forum hoping some of your peers in the hobby will see the facts and convince you to open your mind to the truth. Back in 2010 I discovered you were in possession of the Snoopy drawing flown on Apollo 10. I tried to contact you by email three separate times and never got a reply. I even sent you an article I wrote titled "Forty Years in Search of Snoopy" published in NASA History News and Notes, Second Quarter 2010, and still received no reply. I decided at that point to leave things alone since the truth was published in an official NASA publication. However, after finding out you now possess both drawings of Snoopy and Charlie Brown flown on Apollo 10 and you are making conflicting statements concerning the creation of these artifacts, I had to attempt to contact you again. This time by phone and again you ignored me.

In your article you state that Ernie Reyes is the creator of these drawings. In collectSPACE you state you are still trying to interview people about their origins. You do a disservice by spreading falsehoods and show disrespect by dismissing people like me just because you have not heard of them or they do not fit with your agenda. At no time in the 45 years since these drawings were created has anybody in or out of NASA come forward as the creator of the Snoopy drawing flown on Apollo 10 other than me.

If you had read the NASA article you would have discovered that I created the drawing of Snoopy for my uncle, Vincent Buffalino, who worked for Grumman Aircraft. He was a mechanic responsible for building the landing gear on the Lunar Module. The drawing you possess hung on the wall at Grumman until it was sent with the LM to the Kennedy Space Center. Once NASA took possession of the drawing my family lost track of it until I saw it on the internet in 2010. In 1986, I attempted to locate my drawing by contacting the Johnson Space Center. They did not know where the original drawing was but had a photo of it. NASA kept the negative but sent me the original print as a memento. I have no idea if NASA reworked my artwork for the mission. However, I am 100% positive the lines, the shapes, the size and colors of the Snoopy drawing are mine. My uncle also verified the photo. This childhood memory is still very strong because of the excitement I experienced knowing my work may travel to the moon.

posted 08-12-2014 08:47 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Peter Bendel:
In your article you state that Ernie Reyes is the creator of these drawings. In collectSPACE you state you are still trying to interview people about their origins. You do a disservice by spreading falsehoods and show disrespect by dismissing people...

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Chet's posting [6/28] is a reminder that many unofficial artists were busy out there for decades in NASA.

Given that the paintings (not drawings) seem beyond the skill of a 10 year old, my general take on your posting is that an extraordinary claim would require extraordinary evidence. Provenance of historic artifacts requires diligence and careful documentation, and changes/updates to provenance require strong evidence.

posted 08-12-2014 09:32 PM               

I have no agenda. I truly wish the story was about a young boy who painted Snoopy. That fact would just add to the paintings' tale. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be the case according to the men who flew the mission.

posted 08-13-2014 06:50 AM               

However, whilst I am sure there is no malice meant by Peter's posting I can offer the following which may ease his frustration somewhat.

Space memorabilia has become a high ranking international business/hobby as of 2014 and at the level of McGlynn and many other collectors, provenance is the key word. When it comes to a flown item, much time and effort and expense may be spent on checking the history with intense research and having noted the McGlynn collection over the years can attest to the amount of time and effort taken to be as certain as can be that an item is the real deal.

posted 08-17-2014 07:28 AM               

I know these drawings only have historical value because of their use on Apollo 10. The artist is basically irrelevant. Based upon the responses received, it was implied that people engaged in this hobby are honorable and this world wide group of collectors does there due diligence in attaining the provenance of items. That being the case; why was the Snoopy drawing credited to Ernie Reyes without the necessary proof? Based on your own standards you still do not know who drew either of these two pieces. I would feel better if you redact Ernie Reyes name and went back to saying unknown graphic artist. That would at least be more accurate.

You took the opinions of the Astronauts on Apollo 10 as proof a child did not create these drawings. John Young, Thomas Stafford, and Gene Cernan, although highly accomplished American Heroes, may not necessarily be qualified to determine if art was created by a child or not. When I contacted Ms. Jane O'Cain, Curator of the Schultz Museum back in 2010, she stated the Snoopy drawing looked rudimentary and may have been created by a child. She also asked another person on her staff and they concurred. This is part of the reason she asked me to write an article. Their opinions are as important or greater than those of the Apollo 10 crew because they work with cartoon art and children almost every day. You should allowed a professional trained in interpretation, particularly child art look at these pieces.

When I was a child I draw cartoons using colored pencils, colored magic markers, and soft pastels. Many were a combination of pastels and markers. The Snoopy piece was no different. When most 4 year old children draw stick figure, color the sky blue only on the top of the drawing and green grass only under feet, I was drawing colored cartoons, including Felix the Cat, Snoopy, Charlie Brown and others. Many of these were well beyond the abilities of the average 4 year old; so by age 10 I was pretty good. My Mother saved some of these as mothers will do with their children. I inherited them when she died. I still draw and paint with pastels but the artwork generally deals with wildlife.

I know without a doubt the Snoopy drawing is mine. I can tell you every corrected mistake. For example, did you notice that Snoopy's nose is set up high on his muzzle and not in the center as usually depicted. I originally drew the snout too close to the edge of the piece and could not get the nose correct, so I moved it up to make it fit properly. This is also why the black line outlining the bottom of the snout is so wide. It corrected the shape and distortion between the colors. The top line of the scarf is also wide because I was unable to make it look like it was flapping in the wind, so I just made it look straight. I also drew the scarf from how I would ware them at the time, rapped completely around the neck with the long parts in the back. Snoopy's neck is longer than normal to accommodate the thickness of the scarf. There are others.

You may be correct in one area. Once NASA took possession of my drawing the Graphics Department may have reworked the piece to make it usable in space on a mission featuring color TV. For example when pastel is photographed some color remains vivid but the texture and some detail disappears. This would also happen if it was laminated. A fixative may have been added protecting the pastels from smudges. This tends to altering the appearance of the medium. The original art may have been photographically enlarged, flaws corrected and shrunk down to necessary size. In that case my original would probably not have been the actual flown item. This is all conjecture at this point because I haven't seen this piece since I was a child.

I hope you are willing to do more research. A lot of history is lost to time and can never be proved, however, inferences are generally drawn based upon facts. As a Wildlife Biologist, we draw inferences based upon the data collected in order to make management decisions. We are obligated to correct protocols when confronted by new findings.

I realize my efforts in this matter may seen over the top, trivial and in the long run who really cares. For me, its personal. The recognition only has meaning to me. Imagine having something you created being used in one of the most significant accomplishment in human history; knowing only you and one other person in all of humanity had that privilege and the credit is given to someone else.

posted 05-26-2016 01:39 AM               

Although Ernie Reyes drew many of the Snoopy cartoons for NASA checklists, etc. it appears that many — if not all — of the daily processing schedule Snoopy cartoons at KSC (especially for North American/Rockwell's CSM testing and checkout) were drawn by a number of people:

The daily schedules for the CSM group in spacecraft operations became famous at Kennedy Space Center when cartoons began appearing on them. John Tribe described that the tradition started during preparations for Apollo 7 in 1968:

The idea of recruiting Snoopy to be the spokesperson for the working troops originated with Ernie Reyes. Al Tinnirello, a North American Rockwell scheduler, implemented it initially. He and Chuck Davis, later joined by Bill Trott, John Tribe, Ernie Reyes, Charlie Stevenson, and Wayne Stallard, took turns preparing the drawings and adding the few words that would give them that extra zing. The combined efforts of these NASA/NAR contributors assured that most appropriate events in the course of daily activities were covered.

Snoopy became an integral part of every CSM schedule that went out, and the schedule itself was soon referred to as "The Snoopy." The pup's popularity was so great that every member of higher management checked the drawing every day, and sometimes protested how they were depicted. It even became an honor to appear in the cartoon. Not only were daily bloopers reported, but Snoopy was also sympathetic to the workers' long hours, difficult problems, or illness. His popularity assured increased attention to the schedule. He gradually became an influential informal communication tool between the troops and management. (Ward "Countdown to a Moon Launch" p. 23)

posted 05-26-2016 06:12 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Peter Bendel:
You may be correct in one area. Once NASA took possession of my drawing the Graphics Department may have reworked the piece to make it usable in space on a mission featuring color TV.

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The background colors were deliberately chosen as color TV test card challenges. It seems highly improbable that color contrast would be a consideration for a child when first drawing something that they could not have known or suspected was destined to be mission-flown. It is possible, however, that those happened to be the colors of the card arbitrarily available to a child. And it is possible, that the test card purpose was easily and conveniently assigned to the child's work based on the original colors. I think it a more likely scenario, however, that a NASA-contracted graphic artist at Johnson Space Center (JSC) painted the caricatures, possibly copying/adapting the original child's work?

In the post-Apollo 1 era, with the emphasis on flight safety and Snoopy's mascot role, surely NASA would have had to pay attention to the flammability of the art media involved? Do the flown works appear to be sprayed with some kind of flame-retardant or does the base appear to have innate flame-resistant properties?

posted 05-26-2016 11:32 AM               

I purchased the paintings from Gene Cernan and John Young. I talked with both of them about the paintings. I showed them to General Stafford, who signed and inscribed each one of the paintings on the back. All three of them have stated the paintings were done by a NASA employee on fire proof treated board. They all agree that the works were not done by anyone else.

General Stafford pointed out to me they were done to test the color TV that he worked to get on Apollo 10. I actually think that I have figured out who did paint the works, but I have to confirm it before I announce it.